Investing in technology means that a potential investor has to find one that is new, captures the market`s imagination, is easily deployable and can literally turn a profit overnight.

Gartner`s Emerging Technology Hype Cycle may offer some clue as to what is new, but at the same time it tells a story of technologies that have been around for a while and, although not quite stillborn, are struggling to get off the ground.

Alexander Linden, research VP at Gartner, says many of the technologies depicted on the hype cycle have been in the gestation stage for several years but have failed to really make it into the mainstream.